Dwayne Haskins and Mason Rudolph played to a draw in the Steelers' first preseason game. But as they say, tie goes to the former first-round pick.
OK, they don't really say that, but Haskins is the more tantalizing backup option. He's received rave reviews from Mike Tomlin since joining the team, with the Steelers' head coach praising Haskins' talent and work ethic. Just this week, Tomlin said Haskins has grown "by leaps and bounds."
On Thursday, Tomlin complimented Haskins' poise. "I liked his demeanor," Tomlin said. "I thought he was a really good communicator. I thought he was really present and kind of cerebral, the way you would like the quarterback position to be."
Haskins' numbers are uninspiring: 8-for-13, 54 yards, no touchdowns. But his stat line doesn't capture his entire night. He led the Steelers on two scoring drives in the third quarter, starting off their touchdown drive with a 15-yard completion.
Pittsburgh didn't score while Rudolph was under center.
To set up the field goal, Haskins reeled off four completions on five attempts, including a smooth play-action completion to wideout Anthony Johnson.
Now, Haskins was playing with and against second and third-stringers, so it's hard to really gage his performance. But he didn't turn the ball over, or make boneheaded mistakes.
The same can't be said for Rudolph. He fumbled on a handoff exchange to end the Steelers' first possession.
Rudolph recovered, and wound up completion the throw of the night: a 45-yard bomb to Chase Claypool down the right sideline. But Rudolph also badly missed James Washington on a third-down play, throwing behind the young receiver.
We've probably seen Rudolph's ceiling. The fourth-round pick started eight games for the Steelers in 2019, and was increasingly bad over his final five starts — discounting his Week 15 showing against the Jets, when the season was already lost.
From Week 7 through Week 11, Rudolph competed less than 60 percent of his passes and threw five touchdowns and seven interceptions. He posted a putrid QB rating of 67.9.
Haskins just has more potential.
Granted, he was abysmal in Washington last season, getting released before a must-win game in Week 17 because he violated Covid protocols. But Haskins appears to recognize he's playing to salvage his career.
He's said all of the right things so far.
It's possible Rudolph will outperform Haskins over the next month, in which case, he should be named Ben Roethlisberger's backup. But if the two quarterbacks continue to perform similarly, Haskins should be the guy.
It's always more fun to go with the unknown.
